Business

Number of furloughed jobs in Northern Ireland cut by 59 per cent during July

New figures from HMRC said the number of people furloughed in the north fell by 59 per cent during July.
New figures from HMRC said the number of people furloughed in the north fell by 59 per cent during July. New figures from HMRC said the number of people furloughed in the north fell by 59 per cent during July.

THE total number of furloughed jobs in Northern Ireland more than halved during July, new figures from HMRC indicates.

A quarter of a million ‘employments’ were registered under the UK Treasury’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) at the end of June.

That number fell 59 per cent to 102,600 as of July 31, HMRC said on Friday.

The majority (78,100) remained on full furlough, but some 24,500 were recorded as partially furloughed.

More flexibility was introduced into the CJRS on July 1, allowing employees to work part of their normal hours and be furloughed for the rest of the time.

HMRC also offered a gender breakdown of furloughed workers in the north. Some 51,900 were male (14 per cent of those eligible), while 50,700 were female (12 per cent take-up).

Overall, HMRC said 13 per cent of those eligible in Northern Ireland were furloughed at the end of July, one of the lowest take-up rates of any UK region.

Meanwhile the number of claims under the Self-Employment Support Scheme (SEISS) also fell over the summer, albeit at a less dramatic rate than the furlough scheme.

The second SEISS opened on August 17. HMRC said that as of August 31, it attracted 56,000 claims in the north, 28 per cent down on the 78,000 which filed claims under the first scheme.

A total of £140m has been paid out to date under the second phase. Some £223m was claimed in Northern Ireland under the first SEISS.